A little too small for middleweight, and a little too big for welterweight, he’s one of those fighters who wishes there were more divisions.

It’s been reported Shields is opting to go big for his next fight. But the onetime UFC welterweight challenger and former Strikeforce champ hasn’t committed to one division or another.

“I’m willing to fight at either weight, so whatever they offer me, I’ll take it,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Most recently, Shields (27-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) outworked a powerful but listless Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144, taking big shots while racking up points with smaller and more frequent ones to earn a unanimous-decision victory.

The win likely saved Shields’ UFC career after back-to-back losses that included a quick knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger and a game effort against champ Georges St-Pierre.

Now, Shields wants big fights. Having already seen the top of the welterweight division, he sees those at middleweight, where Anderson Silva reigns.

Upon signing with the UFC in July 2010, Shields said he suggested a bout with “The Spider” to kick off his octagon career. He had just vacated the Strikeforce middleweight belt after an upset win over the bigger Dan Henderson. But at the time, the UFC was interested in a superfight between St-Pierre and Silva, and Shields was nudged toward 170 pounds.

Shields debuted at UFC 121 against veteran welterweight Martin Kampmann and struggled mightily to make weight, cutting more than 20 pounds on the week of the fight to make the allowable limit. A subsequent cut to meet St-Pierre at UFC 129 went more smoothly, but Shields didn’t stop thinking about a trip back to middleweight.

“I really feel like I’m in the middle,” he said. “I hate cutting weight down to 170; I feel like the last couple of pounds, I feel a little bit weaker. But I’m a little bit small for 185.

“Really, I’d be perfect for the weight in the middle, but unfortunately, there’s not (that option). I haven’t figured out which way to go.”

In the past three weeks, he’s gone up, lifting weights to add muscle in the event of a middleweight offer. He’s requested a fight in August, perhaps at UFC on FOX 4. But for now, he’s still waiting.

“I really want to fight the top guys,” Shields said. “Obviously, Anderson Silva being at the top, that’s what I want. Unfortunately, some of the very best guys at that weight are my friends. Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping are two of the very best. But I guess it comes down to business. Sometimes, you’ve got to fight your friends.”

Or in a previous case, help one fight the other. Shields assisted Bisping in his preparation for a fight in January against Sonnen, less than a year after Sonnen helped Shields prepare for the St-Pierre bout.

So for Shields, it’s business first. Should he have to fight Sonnen or Bisping, he wouldn’t be happy, but he’d do it.

“They’re both top-five, and I want to fight top-five opponents,” he said. “So it’s definitely an unfortunate situation. But if I’m at the weight, I want to beat the best.”

That title, of course, belongs to Silva, who in June defends his title a 10th time when he meets Sonnen at UFC 147.

Shields, a jiu-jitsu black belt, always felt he matched up well with the prolific champ. The two even rubbed shoulders when they fought in the now-defunct Rumble on the Rock promotion in 2006.